1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
Federal News Network presents a daily update of important moments in the history of the U.S. government.
May 12, 20206:00 am
< a min read
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, exercising the traditional Christmastime practice by presidents, pardoned all persons who had been convicted under the Espionage Act and the Selective Service Act during World War I. Amnesty (as opposed to pardon) for WW I political prisoners had been an issue for civil libertarians since the end of the war. (In fact, the term “political prisoner” is itself a political term that has no standing in the law.) Led by the ACLU’s Roger Baldwin, a coalition of groups created the General Amnesty Campaign on June 11, 1922.